Improvement in combination-locks



tinted sans @anni Grillini.

ISAAC W. LAMB, or sALntLMIcHIGAN.

Letters Patent No. 92,844, dated July 20,1869.

IMPROVE:Mrnvr 1N COMBINATION-Locks.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making parof thesame.

being had: to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of thisspecification, in which- Figurel is a rear elevation of one of my`improved locks, representing a portion of the back case .broken away toshow the position of the parts.

Figure 2 is also a rear elevation of the lock.

Figure 3 is a vertical section of the lock, drawn on the line a: of iig.1, being lenlarged to show more clearly th'esmaller parts. Y,

Figure 4 is a i-ont elevation of the lock.

Figure 5 is a section of the drive-wheel WA and the rear endof thespindle S, showing the manner ofcounecting the two together, and is onthe same enlarged scale as fig. 3.

Figure 6 is a 'front elevation of one of the wheels or tumblers.

Figure .7 shows the form ofthe washers.

Figure S is a side elevation of one of the wheels,

Ashowing the hub on which it turns.

Figure 9-shows the relative position of the outer nptches, n, and theinner projections n of the'several wheels, as seen from the back side,they all beingrear elevations.

Similar letters of' reference indicate corresponding parts in theseveral figures.

The design of my invention is to produce a simple and convenientpermutation-lock that shall be suitable' for drawers, cupboards, andother places, although some portions of the invention are equally welladapted for safes, vaults, and such other places as require thestrongest locks.

(l 'C C is-the back ofthe case.

Bis the bolt to which, at the lower end, is pivoted the dog a a.

D is a cylinder containi ug wheels W and washers Wm.

XV is the drive-wheel, and has attached to it a tube, W", that extendsforward through the knob K.

S is a stem or spindle, for operating the wheels or tumblers W, and itextends through the drive-wheel NV and the tube W", and has a smallknob, S', attached to its front end.

By means ofthe knob S the spindle S may be drawn out to the positionshown by the dotted lines, when the inner end will be entirely out ot'allthe wheels lV.

K is the principal knob. It is formed in one piecel with the dial E, andis secured to the tube W" by a suitable set-screw, not4 shown. Byturning the knob K, thedrive-wheel 'f is turned also.

A screw-pin, m', (see iig. 5,) passes through the wheel W into a recess,c, out in the spindle S, so that the spindle and wheel W will turntogether. The said y recess c extends lengthwise along the spindle S,far enough to permit the-spindle to be drawn out a distance equal to thecombined thickness of all the wheels vand washers in the cylinder D.

1' li 'i t' t', (see fig. 3,)-a-re small notches cut in the' spindle S.A small pin, w, is pressed into the notches i, by means of a spring, a,the said spring being retained in place by the small screw n.

The screw n', spring n", and pin In, are all contained within a holedrilled iu the wheel XV, as seen in figs; 3 and 5.

H, H, H', and H", together with the tube D, are Iall one piece, and formthe front poition of the case of the lock. 'H" forms acyli'nder, and isdesigned as a bearing of the part H, and. one of them forms a guide forthe bolt B. l

Two screws, ,b b, seen in iig. 3, hold the parts of the 'y casetogether, the plate C C being tapped for 'the screws.

mis a cap, designed to secure the wheelsW, and retain them within thecylinder D.

Two nuts, r fr, working on the screws b b, secure the cap fmI in place.

I is a plate or ling, to be secured to the outside of the drawer, door,or other article to which a lock may be fitted. A small mark, z, 4', onthe same, forms an index or point to which the `figures of the dial areto be turnedin opening the lock. i

The wheels W have each a hub, fw, on their front side. Such hubs, whenin the cylinder D, turn within the holes y of the washersi` T, (see iig.7,) such washers forming bearings for the wheels W, so that the saidwheels may be made somewhat smaller than the cylinder D, and yet beretained in proper position by the washers'. The washers are made solarge as to fit the cylinder .very exactly.

By this arrangement, having the hubs of the wheels turn in the washers,I secure a goodsmooth bearing for the wheels, notwithstanding the wideopening in the cylinder D, on the side nekt the dog .a a', and alsowithout using the spindle S fora bearing, as is commonly done by others.

I change the combinations by placing the wheels lV in the lockindifferent order. I use solid wheels, with fixed notches In andprojections or notches n', they' being similar in this respect to thoseexplained in the Letters Patent granted to me, December 17, 1867.

f Other yarieties of wheels may be used, however, in carrying out theimprovements claimed by me in the, present' case.'

' in the recess S, that is eut in the spindle S.

Now turn the knob K to the right until the figure S on the dial is up tothe point z. (See fig. 4.) The -notchn, of the wheel No.. 8, will now beopposite or next to the end a of the dog a a'.

Now draw out on the snm-ll knob S until the spindle S is drawn out ofthe wheel No. 8. The spring-pin n, operating inthe notches'i. 'i t' i ofthe spindle, enables the operator to feel when the spindle is drawn ont:t distance equal to the thickness of a wheel.

After "drawing the spindle S out of the back wheel, turn the knob Kuntil figure 6 on lthe dinl comes to the niark. The wheel No. 8 will notturn. Now the notch ln, of wheel No. 6, is opposite ce' of the dog. Drawout the small knob again until the spindle comes ont of wheel'No. 6.Turn the knob K again until figure 5 on the dinl comes opposite thenia-rk, and wheel No. 5 will be in place. New draw ont the knob S again.Turn the knob K aga-in until figure 4 on the dinl is oppositethe mark,and draw out ngnin.

The spindle and small knob are now in the position shown by the dottedlines in fig. 3. The notches u of n-ll the wheels W are new opposite aof the dog. j

Now turn the knob' to the right, and us soon as the notch n of thedrive-wheel XV comes opposite the part a" ofthe dog, the spring s willthrow the dog into the geen 2 notches n, :md as the knob K is turned onto the right, the dog a al and bolt B will be drawn back and nnlocked.

To lock the bolt, it is only necessary to turn the Continue to turn tothe left, and :it the sinne time press in gently on the small knob S',and es the spin'- dle turns, the recess will come on n line with theprojection vn of the wheels, one by one, and n-s soon :ts that occurs,the spindle will enter the wheels, one by one, until it is again in theposition shown in fig. 3.

For bank-locks, I make the spindle S in two parts, the head, or partthat turns the wheels, being a. sleeve, and free to slide out and in onthe spindle S, but turningwith it, :L coiled spring on the spindleholding the heed bnck in place. Yet the spring, heilig elastic, wouldallow the spindle to be pushed imif'ithout pushing in thesnid heed, eventhough the recess S" of the bend should not be opposite the projectionsn of the wheels, thus protecting the lock against injury.

This plan for protect-ing the lock is fully described in my patent,granted December 17, 1867, and need not be further explained here.

W'hnt I claim its new, :ind desire to secure by Letters Patent is- Thecombination of the dinl E with the tube W, drive-wheel XV', und spindleS, substantially :Ls and for the purpose herein explained.

ISAAC W. LAMB.

lVitnesses:

BELLE \V0o1 wo1TH, Uns ULA. Simmons.

knob to the left, :nid the bolt will be thrown out.,

